Miami Beach Pride kicks off this month, but a shadow is looming over the festivities as local governments look to the future.
The Florida Legislature recently passed its “anti-DEI bill,” SB-1134, which severely limits local governments from supporting a variety of activities labeled as "DEI" or "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion." Activities include things like Pride festivals that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. Any resident can sue a government official for violating the law, and that official can be forcibly removed from office for malfeasance by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Jacksonville Republican Rep. Dean Black, who sponsored the House version of the bill, said it builds on prior efforts to dismantle DEI, a “philosophy” he claimed has wasted “millions of taxpayer dollars” and “fostered resentment instead of goodwill, mediocrity instead of merit.”
“Broward County spent $900,000 on DEI training, and that included pushing gender fluidity and transgender ideology,” Black said.
The bill is awaiting DeSantis' signature before it becomes law. He has signaled his support for it.
Elected officials in Miami-Dade County are already gearing up for the worst.
READ MORE: Florida Legislature passes bill banning local government DEI initiatives
"We're gonna have to make decisions as to whether we find ways to secure funding for future Pride events before this bill goes into effect," said Miami Beach Commissioner Alex J. Fernandez. "We are exploring every possible way we can to make sure that when one entity comes to push people into the shadows Miami Beach pushes back."
Fernandez is one of several officials who have spoken out against the anti-DEI bill since it was first introduced this year. He sees it as an unconstitutional affront to marginalized communities, and an attempt to take Florida back to the dark ages.
"Censorship, retaliation, intolerance, hate. This bill is a message about who belongs in a community and who belongs in the state of Florida and who doesn't," he told WLRN.
Miami Beach's push to continue supporting Pride is not just a moral imperative, but an economic one.
For the last two years, the city received the most revenue from its resort tax during the month of April, and hotel occupancy rates are at some of their highest levels during the same period.
Fernandez attributes this increase in resort revenue to the city's widely recognized Pride celebrations.
" We're going to make sure that we find every creative way possible to have this event continue going forward because not only is it the right thing to do, but it's also good for the economy of our city," he said.
Bill carve outs
While the original version of the bill was far more broad in its restrictions, the final version of the bill includes a number of carve outs meant to allow certain local government actions.
Local governments are allowed to provide permits for Pride-style activities as they would any other large-scale events. Additionally, local governments are allowed to provide police and security services to these events as well.
READ MORE: 'A painful message': Miami Beach residents slam state's removal of Ocean Drive pride crosswalk
Joe Saunders, political director for the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Florida, said these carve outs are the result of months of lobbying and advocacy work by legislators and Florida officials throughout the legislative session. Even so, Saunders believes the legislation is ripe for legal challenge.
" This bill is designed to be incredibly vague and have that vagueness matched with the most punitive measures. We believe that is why it is fundamentally an unconstitutional law," Saunders told WLRN.
In the interim before the bill is challenged or goes into effect, organizations like the Miami-Dade LGBTQ+ and Allied Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC) are gearing up to help support Pride and local queer businesses.
"We're doubling down on what we do on the fundraising. We're raising more money for programs for chamber members," said Marty Davis, board chair for the MDGLCC. " We are a partner with the LGBT Visitor Center on Miami Beach. Certainly they may lose some funding and we'll be working with them to make certain that that stays open and that it's available for tourism."
The chamber of commerce will hold its second annual "Legends" awards ceremony on April 24, honoring local LGBTQ+ leaders and allies and fundraising to help support continued programming.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this story.
